Splinter Cell: Deathwatch creator Derek Kolstad has spoken about the "guardrails" put in place by Ubisoft for the Netflix series, while also comparing it to his more restrictive time over at Marvel Studios.
"Whenever you deal with any IP, there's going to be guardrails in place," Kolstad tells GamesRadar+ of his working relationship with Ubisoft. "I did Falcon and The Winter Soldier and that's Disney. You're in a titanium tunnel – it's [still] a joy because you get to play in a sandbox filled with sand and play with their toys."
Perhaps Kolstad's position as creator and showrunner in Splinter Cell: Deathwatch – a story that takes place years after the events of the games with an older Sam Fisher pushed back out of retirement – is in stark contrast to his position as writer on two episodes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Nevertheless, Kolstad was left impressed by Ubisoft's more hands-off approach as he crept forward with the spy series.
"Ubisoft, when they came to me and as soon as I wanted to do [Old Sam Fisher] they were like, 'Great, and go.'... What I love about it is that the only guardrails were love the character, respect the IP. They just let me run."
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, starring Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher, hits Netflix on October 14.
For more, read on for why Kolstad chose Liev Schreiber as his Sam Fisher, replacing the iconic Michael Ironside. Then, dive into our picks for the best Netflix shows on the streamer.
